The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp which is fixedly mounted on a bracket secured to the vehicle body by slidably inserting it in the bracket from the front of the vehicle body. More particularly the invention relates to a vehicle lamp fixing structure which is provided around the lens which closes the front opening of the lamp body.
The external design of a vehicle lamp mounted on the vehicle body forms a part of the external design of the vehicle itself. Accordingly, to improve the appearance of vehicle lamps such as fog lamps and turn signal lamps, there has been a strong demand for decreasing the thickness of the front lens which is exposed outside the lamp or for flattening the outer lens surface. On the other hand, a so-called combination lamp in which a plurality of vehicle lamps different in function are juxtaposed has been extensively employed, which too should be matched with other components of the vehicle in design.
The structure of such a conventional vehicle lamp is such that, as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C, an engaging groove 51 is formed in the periphery of a lamp body 50, and a seal leg 53 formed along the periphery of a lens 52 closing the front opening of the lamp body 50 is inserted into the engaging groove 51. The seal leg 53 and the engaging groove 51 are joined together with an adhesive. At the front of the vehicle body A, the vehicle lamp thus constructed is inserted into the vehicle body A, and is then fixed to a bracket 54 with screws 55, the bracket 54 being secured to the vehicle body A. Accordingly, the peripheral portion of the vehicle lamp is exposed, and can be observed by a person standing at the front of the vehicle body A. In order to cover the peripheral portion thus exposed, a rim 56 provided separately from the lens 52 is disposed along the periphery of the lens 52.
The above-described rim 56 is disadvantageous in that after the vehicle lamp has been secured to the vehicle body A, the rim 56 is fixed to the mounting structure 57 with screws 58 or the like, the mounting structure being formed on the side of the lamp body 50 or the bracket 54. This not only lowers the efficiency of installing the vehicle lamp, and but also require the provision of a large gap for the installation of the rim. In addition, being arranged between the vehicle lamp and other components of the vehicle, the rim disturbs the harmony of the combination lamp in design with the vehicle body.